<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Magic is Real by Script_the_Skeleton</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23364076">Magic is Real</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Script_the_Skeleton/pseuds/Script_the_Skeleton'>Script_the_Skeleton</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Adventure Zone (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Amnesia, Denial, kinda death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:29:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,645</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23364076</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Script_the_Skeleton/pseuds/Script_the_Skeleton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world of warlocks, wizards, and mind altering jelly fish, how are they supposed to believe anything told to them?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Magic is Real</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In their minds, they lived a hundred and two years, maybe more for some of them, but, in reality, it was only a few seconds. A few seconds to understand everything and nothing all at once. Carey, Killian, and Angus all stared in horror at their friends’ shaking bodies. </p><p>Magnus was standing, leaning on Barry’s shoulder. It was Barry, he realized finally, a lifelong friend that…oh, god. Merle was staring at his hands, not sure what to do. Taako, no one could see what was going on in his head as he stared at the floor, he was catatonic. </p><p>“I’m-I’m so sorry,” Madame Director, Lucretia, put a hand to over her mouth and was crying, “it was the only way!”</p><p>Magnus shifted, lifting the massive sword with an even longer name, pointing it in Lucretia’s direction.  </p><p>“It was not the only way,” he barked, “our plan was working, and now we’re all going to die! We were supposed to be a team, Lucretia!”</p><p>“Magnus, buddy,” Merle tried to be the peacemaker, “put down the sword, we just need to talk.”</p><p>“There’s no time to talk,” Barry sighed regretfully, “the Hunger is here and we need to do something quick. Captain, what do we do?”</p><p>He said the last part to Davenport, who was steadily rising to his feet and speaking his first full sentence in a decade. </p><p>“Where’s the ship, Lucretia?” He asked, voice raspy and tired, “we need to leave before it’s too late.”</p><p>“With all due respect, Cap’n,” Merle shook his head, “that is also a terrible plan. I ain’t leaving! I don’t know about Magnus and Taako, but I have-I have kids, man! I can’t just leave them.”</p><p>Magnus looked at Carey and Killian, his friends, “We said this is the last cycle, so it’s going to be, one way or another. I’m staying, too.”</p><p>“Really, now?” Davenport looked disappointed, but he should’ve expected as much, those two had changed more than he could have ever over the years. He looked to Taako, hopeful that he would agree. The wizard was still unmoving in his crumpled form on the ground. “Taako, if we leave, she’ll be back. Lup will be alive again, Barry will have his body!”</p><p>“Lup wouldn’t want-“ Barry was silenced by a wave of his captain’s hand. </p><p>“Taako?” </p><p>“S-sir?” Angus inched closer to his teacher, lightly touching his robe and tugging on it a little bit, “are you okay?”</p><p>Then…he started laughing. It was a pitiful, broken laugh, one a dying man would give in his last moments, and it was soft, so quiet that the movement of his robe while his back shivered was louder. Raising his hands, Taako grabbed his hat and used it to cover his face more, clenching the edges tightly. </p><p>“You guys really believe this nonsense?” He asked. </p><p>“Taako,” Magnus was the one to try and comfort him, pushing Angus to the side, “I know this is bad, but you found her. It wasn’t the way you wanted, but now you know!”</p><p>“Who?” Taako laughed hysterically. </p><p>Barry decided that ‘who’ was his least favorite word. </p><p>“Lup, you found her even without your memories,” Barry smiled, “you’ve always been connected-“</p><p>“I repeat, who?” Taako was shaking furiously now, “oh, my made up sister that I forgot about and only just now remembered?”</p><p>“Made up?” Lucretia’s eyes widened, “Lup, I’m sorry for taking her away from you, but she’s real.”</p><p>“Can it, Madame Director,” his voice dripped with malice, “I never had a sister. I lived alone my whole life, running from caravan to caravan, and then I ran a show alone except for with a traitor. I wasn’t some space pirate! Magnus, Merle, do you really believe all of this?”</p><p>The two looked at each other, unsure of what to say. They had all seen the same thing, those one hundred years, so why didn’t Taako accept them like they had?</p><p>“Believe our life?” Magnus spoke, “we lived it, how could we not?”</p><p>“C’mon, buddy,” Merle poked at him, “this is hard, but you gotta believe, too. How could all these memories be fake?”</p><p>“How can-fake?” Taako stood up suddenly, spitting out the words, “take a look around you! Magic is real!”</p><p>Keeping his head down, he pointed at different things in the room. He pointed at the relic is Lucretia’s hand, Angus’s wand, the staff at his feet, and, finally, to the void fish. </p><p>“Magic artifacts!” He screamed, “even babies can learn how to cast, I found this in a forsaken cave, and that thing-that thing alters memories. Magic is real, so any of this could’ve created this fake story!”</p><p>“Taako-“ someone started to speak, but Taako didn’t know who. </p><p>“I am Taako!” He stamped his foot on the ground, “I am a chef from New Elfington, I ran a show and I murdered 40 innocent people. I am not an alien, I am not a brother, and I am not some savior of the multiverse!”</p><p>He finally lifted his head in the screaming, allowing everyone to see that he was crying. Tears were pouring down his face and he was blinking wildly. The glamour spell he had been casting since Wonderland had faded away, revealing a very tired, very sad elf. Some of the things he said weren’t even true of the last decade, he had told so many lies to himself over the years that they were second nature to say. </p><p>“The world is ending, huh?” He picked up his staff, ignoring the tingling feeling he got from holding it, “count me out. I ain’t dying for some hallucinations.”</p><p>Taako swung the staff onto his shoulder and went to saunter out.  </p><p>“Sir, even if you don’t believe your memories,” Angus ran up to him, “the threat is still here. Please, you have to help us!”</p><p>“Angus,” his voice was dead inside, “I’m giving you ten seconds to leave me alone before I blast you into oblivion.”</p><p>He would never, of course. Still, Angus scurried away and he was able to walk outside the room. Making sure no one was around, Taako collapsed on the ground to cry some more, dropping the staff on the ground next to his feet. </p><p>While relieving those fake memories, he got a glimpse of something. He-he felt like he had a family, like he wasn’t alone. His sis-that woman had the brightest smile, she cared about him. That’s why he was sure what he saw wasn’t true, no one would be that close to him. </p><p>He felt something hit his leg, something was whacking him repeatedly. Looking down, he saw the staff moving on its own. Picking it up curiously, he was suddenly hit on the head with it. </p><p>“Stupid thing!” He chucked it away from him. Now he needed to get a new wand or something to replace it. It was getting more broken by the day and-there was no way he could look at it normally now. </p><p>Sitting in silence a little while longer, he heard an explosion and a burst of heat next to his head. It was the staff again, burning something into the wall like it had when he was teaching Angus. Taako got up and grabbed the staff before it could right more than an “L”. </p><p>“Stop it!” He hissed at the thing, but he lost control of it again. </p><p>Forcing his hands to move like on his date with Kravitz, the staff burned a “U” right next to the “L”. Taako stared at it in horror. </p><p>“She isn’t real,” he bit at the staff, “stop writing her name!”</p><p>The staff spazzed out again, this time slow enough for Taako to hold the end down. </p><p>“Useless piece of junk!” He screamed. </p><p>The staff started to heat up in his hands, nearly burning him. What was going on with it?</p><p>“She. Isn’t. Real!” He threw the staff as hard as possible at an opposing wall and he heard a cracking noise. Sliding down his wall, he started to cry again. “She isn’t real, she isn’t real. Even if she was real, she’s gone!”</p><p>He didn’t look up when a waft of warm air filled the hallway. He didn’t look up with a weird hissing sound rang nearby. He didn’t look up at anything, he was too tired. The whole moon could blow up and he wouldn’t even care. </p><p>Then, he felt warm, almost hot, arms wrap around him. They didn’t feel solid, but they were there enough so that he could tell it was a hug. </p><p>“Koko,” A female voice whispered in his ear, “I have never been gone.”</p><p>Opening his eyes, he saw a Red Robe. Fluffy hair in a braid, grinning teeth, and fire whirling around her, the lich was also crying. Taako’s heart stopped. </p><p>“You’re-“ he rammed her into a hug, “oh god, you’re-“</p><p>He never finished the sentence, he didn’t need to. Lup patted his back and rocked him back and forth. </p><p>“Still attractive, I know,” she laughed, trying to lighten the mood, “I guess I’m definitely the hotter twin now.”</p><p>Taako huffed, “that’s not cool, Lulu.”</p><p>“That’s because I’m hot,” she rolled her eyes, “I have been waiting for this day for so long.”</p><p>“Me too.”</p><p>“Liar,” Lup smacked him playfully, “unless you’re the lich and you remembered everything.”</p><p>“Well-oh, sh*t,” Taako’s eyes widened with fear. </p><p>“What?”</p><p>“My boyfriend’s going to kill you.”</p><p>“Speaking of, you’re dating the Grim Reaper!?”</p><p>“You’re dating Barry Bluejeans!?”</p><p>“That’s old news, get more creative!”</p><p>The twins laughed and talked. After a couple of minutes, Taako was able to walk back into the room and the team was back together. While they talked about a new plan, after Barry and everyone properly freaked out about Lup, Taako squeezed his sister’s hand. </p><p>“You’re real,” he repeated to himself and she heard. </p><p>“Magic’s real,” she nodded, “anything can be real, then.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>When I was first listening to this scene, I was honestly expecting one of them to not believe their new memories. It was probably because they just lived like seven episodes in those memories, but I feel if you suddenly learned all of this information you might not fully believe it.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>